


Just Fall

by PrincessDystopia



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Betrayal, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Family, First Love, Friendship/Love, Love, POV First Person, Protective Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-20
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-10-08 07:03:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10381200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessDystopia/pseuds/PrincessDystopia
Summary: In this sequel to Trust, Haketa has matured, grown to see through lies, and completely gotten over Kankuro, or so she thinks. When the puppet master shows up again in her life, this time with a new girl hanging on his arm, Haketa must make a decision. Does she keep her distance from him, or does she just fall right back into his trap?Originally written and posted to Quizilla in 2011.





	1. Oh, Hell

**Author's Note:**

> If you're reading this, I'm assuming you've read the prequel: [Trust.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9883073/chapters/22162814) And if you haven't, feel free to head on over that way now! The story will probably make more sense if you do. 
> 
> Like I said in the beginning notes for Trust, this story was written forever ago. It is unedited from the original upload to Quizilla, meaning I'm fully aware of any mistakes I have made while writing it. You can point them out if you'd like, but just know that I won't fix them. 
> 
> On with the story! Enjoy, and thank you for reading!

_"I thought I'd forget you, but I guess I forgot to." - Unknown_

"Lady Hokage, you can't possibly send Kyan and me out on this mission," I protested, trying to stand tall against the female leader sitting behind her cluttered desk in front of me. "Kyan is just learning and I'm not even the sort of Shinobi to do something like this!"

Lady Tsunade sighed in frustration and folded her hands on the surface. "I understand that, Haketa. However, chances are, the both of you will not have to participate in any fighting. We've already sent a team of Genin to retrieve him. All you've got to do is follow their trail and find any wounded. From that point, you should know what to do."

I tried my hardest to remain respectful toward her, but if something really were to happen, my younger sister and I could be seriously injured. Or killed. Sending a beginning Medical-Nin and a Courier-Nin out to track someone down was just insane.

"You're dismissed. Hurry and find them."

I could feel Kyan's anxiousness radiating from her body beside me as we bowed. "Ma'am," we both mumbled to the woman.

()()()

"This is ridiculous," Kyan hissed as we rummaged around the house, trying to find our gear.

I nodded in agreement, slipping on my black Courier-Nin outfit. Because I traveled mostly at night, Grandfather had made me a special full-body outfit before he passed away four months ago, woven from fine thread that was usually used to make the cloth on headbands. 

In the past six months, many things had taken drastic turns. Kyan had regained her voice during the huge incident with the Chuunin Exams, an event I'd rather forget. Since then, getting her to shut up was almost impossible. She openly spoke her mind, working on her speech at the same time.

When she first started talking again, she had a serious stutter. Mother had told her it was okay to have because everyone understood her anyway, but she wouldn't listen to that. She worked her butt off to work on getting rid of it. It still happened sometimes, but for the most part, she spoke exactly how she did before she lost it.

Besides Kyan's voice returning, Grandfather had passed away. Poisonous fumes from the attack led by Orochimaru had entered his lungs and left him hospitalized for weeks until he finally went. Since then, Mother hired employees at the restaurant, giving Kyan and me the opportunity to pick back up on our Shinobi training.

Sure, we didn't turn out to be the type of Shinobi everyone else was, but it worked for us. Kyan decided to become a Medical-Nin while watching Grandfather die. All the medical terms and body parts had fascinated her. I, on the other hand, was appointed Courier-Nin. 

Shortly after Lady Tsunade became Hokage, I was constantly making food deliveries to her office. Each time, she secretly timed me until she finally pointed out I was making it shorter each time. After that, I found myself on delivery missions to different villages. 

The headband she awarded me was my most prized possession. When I wasn't out on deliveries to other villages, I wore it around my neck. Other times, it was tied around my forehead.

"Ready?" I asked Kyan, fastening my backpack onto my body. Her eyes searched my face, looking for my eyes. Sometimes I enjoyed the fact that my face was completely covered. People didn't know when I was watching them.

"Yeah. It's al-almost dark. We should hurry."

()()()

We rushed out of the village, scanning the destruction of the nearby forest carefully. There was obviously a large struggle. Not knowing who Lord Hokage had sent out after Sasuke made us worry. We didn't know who to look for.

The small radio on my hip made a soft static noise and Shizune's voice addressed me. "Haketa, have the two of you already set out?"

Kyan and I landed on a branch and I grabbed it off the black matching belt that hung loosely around me. I brought it up to my invisible mouth and replied, "We're about a mile out already. There are signs of fighting. Can you tell us who all you sent out?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji, Inuzuka Kiba, Akimichi Choji, and Nara Shikamaru as their team leader."

"Right."

I hooked it back onto the belt and we continued to search. Not far away, the sound of thunder boomed. I bit down on my lower lip, hoping it wouldn't rain on us.

()()()

"Oh man," Kyan whispered, kneeling next to an unconscious Choji, who was leaned against a tree. He was severely beaten and bloodied, and the destroyed trees and giant holes in the ground gave away the fact that he most likely killed his enemy.

I grabbed the radio with a shaking hand and took a deep breath before talking into it. "Shizune, this is Chikaku Haketa. We've found Choji." I watched Kyan's hand start to glow a beautiful pale green color before she nodded to me. "He's in critical condition. Please send someone right away."

"Will do."

I swung my backpack around and kneeled over it, digging around until I found the small smoke pills. After cracking two of them, I placed them on the ground and watched the pink-colored smoke rise into the air. 

Kyan stood up from Choji's body and scurried to my side. "Lets go."

Not even ten minutes later, we came across Neji, who was laying face-down on the ground. There was a hole in the chest, big enough to see completely through. His long beautiful hair was clumped together with blood. He, too, seemed to have killed his opponent.

Kyan ran to him and gently flipped him onto his back, sighing in relief that the injury wasn't near his heart like she thought it was. Like with Choji, I contacted Shizune and set off two more smoke pills before gathering my things and hurrying off again with my sister.

As we continued along the path, noting the arrows carved into some of the trees, we both noticed four different presences of Chakra. I wanted to tell Kyan to turn around and go back to the village, but I knew she would refuse, especially when people came into view.

The two of us hid in the shadows of the leaves of a tree, watching them closely. I recognized three of them, but the girl of the group was unfamiliar. Kiba, holding a wounded Akamaru in his arms, sat against a tree, talking with...Oh, hell.

"Its Kankuro," Kyan whispered. My stomach twisted into knots painfully.

It was Kankuro, my ex-best friend/ex-boyfriend/I don't even know. I had met the Sunagakure local during the Chuunin Exams and it wasn't long before we were almost inseparable. 

For nearly two months, we spent almost everyday together. I had told him everything to know about my life and my family, and he told me the same in return. Or, at least, I thought he did.

Right before the finals, he had begged me not to come watch him participate, but he wouldn't explain why. So, Kyan and I attended anyway. That's when the attack on Konohagakure started, with one of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru, pulling all the strings.

Kankuro's younger brother, Gaara, was the main distraction while our former Hokage was murdered. Sasuke had gone after Kankuro and his siblings away from the village to stop Gaara, so naturally, I followed with the help of Aburame Shino.

That's where I knew Kankuro had been planning to betray me the entire time. Shino and I attacked puppet master and in return, I found myself in the hospital because of Kankuro's attacks.

"He's going to hurt Kiba," I hissed. Kyan opened her mouth to object, but I grabbed a fist-full of her hair and dragged her down with me.

"Kyan?" Kiba mumbled, watching us land. Well, I landed on the ground. Kyan did a weird flopping action, thanks to me. Before Kiba had the chance to say my name, I rushed a finger to my unseen lips.

"Kyan?" Kankuro repeated, turning around to face us. I tried to ignore the urge to cry at the sound of his voice. For two entire months after the attack, I cried and moped because of him. I wouldn't do it ever again. 

The only thing that looked different about him was the design of his kabuki paint on his face.

Kyan hopped to her feet and pulled an emergency kunai knife from her pouch, holding it tightly just as I was doing. Both of us stared him down, watching his movements carefully. One wrong move and we would attack.

"Move away from Kiba," Kyan ordered, moving her gaze to the girl who stood next to Kankuro. 

She was a bit taller than me with choppy blonde hair that stopped at her shoulders. Her green eyes watched Kyan and me with an almost panicked spark in them. Around her right thigh, her Sunagakure headband was tied tightly. 

"We're not going to hurt him," Kankuro told her, holding up his hands. The girl copied his movements. "We saved the kid's life."

It was then that I noticed the signs of fighting. A large wooden puppet, somewhat resembling Crow, stood off to the side with blood trickling out from the cracks. The girl had a cut on her left ankle.

"He's right," Kiba defended. "If it weren't for them, Akamaru and I would be dead right now."

Kyan and I relaxed and she moved to the small dog. He whined heartbreakingly, struggling to open his eyes to look at her. 

As Kyan held a glowing hand to the creature, I counted my remaining smoke pills. I had seven. Shikamaru and Naruto were still missing. I just hoped they weren't dead.

"Where's Haketa?" Kankuro asked my sister. Kiba met Kyan's eyes quickly before she answered his question.

"She's d-dead," she lied. "She never recovered from the fight you had with her and Shino. The p-poison ate away at her lungs until they collapsed."

All eyes fell on Kankuro. He stood motionless for a long time until a forced breath came from his lips. I almost felt bad for him, but then the part of me who still wanted revenge pushed that feeling away. 

"Kyan," I said, making my voice deeper than usual. "Take these and go find the rest." I held out five pills to her, keeping two for myself. She nodded and gave Akamaru one last pat on the head before grabbing the small items and jumping off until she was out of view.

When I turned back to the rest of the group, Kankuro was sitting against the same tree Kiba was. The girl was kneeled in front of him, trying to get him to look up from his arms. Kiba gave me somewhat of an amused smirk.

"Kankuro," the girl mumbled. "Who's Haketa?"

"A really great friend of mine," he replied, glancing up at her. "Or, she was."

She sighed and lifted her hands, easing them under his hat and pushing it back so his mess of brown hair was exposed. My eyes widened when she placed a soft kiss on his forehead. He sighed in annoyance and glanced away.

"Serisu, not now."


	2. The Happy Couple

_"The heart was made to be broken." - Oscar Wilde_

Rain began to pelt the cover we'd set up above us, just as we thought it would. Fortunately, I'd learned to be prepared for any sort of weather, including rain, so I naturally packed a medium-sized tarp in my backpack.

Kiba seemed unable to move, so Kankuro hooked the edges of the tarp to the trees surrounding him. The sky was growing dark, so I told Shizune our location. I also told her not to expect us back until morning, unless she could send backup to us.

"I hate the rain," Serisu told me, fumbling through her pouch. I refused to undress from my Courier-Nin suit, so naturally, nobody except Kiba and Akamaru (both were asleep now) knew who I was.

From her pouch, the blonde pulled out a compact mirror, checking her hair obsessively. I stared at her in silence. This was the girl who had been Kankuro's first? The girl who cheated on him, then made it out to seem like he was the bad guy for breaking up with her? The girl who...well, who was now his girlfriend again?

Speaking of the puppeteer, ever since Kyan lied to him and told him I was dead because of his actions, he hadn't said a word. Actually, he didn't seem to be all there.

I turned my attention away from Serisu and watched him. He sat on the ground, close enough to the edge of the tarp above him that rain was falling onto his open palms.

"Isn't he the cutest?" Serisu mumbled, demanding my focus again. She was also watching Kankuro, a dazed look on her face. "Want to know how we met?"

I felt my eye twitch with annoyance. In my imagination, I was shoving a kunai into both of her eye sockets. Deeply. 

"Sure," I whispered in a strained voice.

"Our mothers were friends," she started, a small smile on her face. "He and his sister, Temari, would always come over to my house with Karura before his little brother was born. I never really played with Kankuro. He was always more interested in taking things apart and putting them back together. Then, we enrolled in the academy together a few years later and I guess you could say it was love at first sight."

She sighed dreamily and closed her eyes. Oh, I hated this girl. I wanted to ask her so badly about the part where she cheated on him, but I kept my mouth shut.

I noticed a small tear in the tarp right above her and smirked to myself. Before she could open her eyes, I grabbed a spare kunai and threw it at the split, opening it wider. The pool of water that had been accumulating on the top of the tarp spilled over through the hole and splashed on her head.

She gasped and cried out, moving away from the hole. "What the hell?!" she screeched, covering her hair. 

"Oh no," I mumbled halfheartedly. "Serisu, you're all wet. How did that happen?"

I stole a fleeting look at Kankuro, who was glancing back at us. I could've sworn I saw a small smirk on his lips.

()()()

Half-way through the night, the rain had let up some. Kiba and Akamaru hadn't woken up once. I checked their heartbeats every half hour to make sure they were still alive.

As I sat under the tarp, listening to the dog and his boy (no, not Serisu and Kankuro) snore, I also kept a close eye on the couple. Serisu lay comfortably by herself, wrapped in a restful ball. Kankuro lay somewhat near her (I noticed he distanced himself from her) on his back. His arms were behind his head and he stared upward.

"You can sleep, you know," Kankuro suddenly said, jolting my body awake. I was trying my hardest not to doze off, but it was harder than it seemed.

"No, thanks," I replied. I spoke in a deeper tone, just as I did before. "Even though Konohagakure and Sunagakure are allies again, I still don't trust you."

He was silent for a few moments. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but when he spoke again, I was wide awake.

"Did you know Haketa?" he questioned, tilting his head to look at me. 

I fumbled my thumbs nervously. "A little," I lied. "I went to their restaurant a lot."

Kankuro glanced over at Serisu, who had mumbled a different guy's name along with some noises I don't feel comfortable with sharing, and shook his head. 

"I went to that restaurant pretty often when I was there for the Chuunin Exams. They have the best soba noodles I've ever had."

Yeah, that's right. The best.

"Her mother and grandfather loved me, I think," he continued. "Kyan, not so much. I don't blame her. I wasn't really the nicest person when I met them." He paused and bit down on his lower lip. "I think that's why I liked started Haketa so much. Even though I was a jerk to her in the beginning, she didn't put up with my crap."

My stomach felt funny. I resisted my urge to crawl over to him and lay my head on his chest like I did that night he fell asleep at my house. When everything was perfect.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this," he went on. "You don't even know me. But I guess that's a good thing. You can't really judge me."

My hands doubled into fists. I wanted to tell him that I did know him. I knew almost everything about him. I knew about his mother's death, about the two parallel scars on his left elbow that served as birthmarks, about how he lost his first tooth because Temari had punched it out. I even knew about him and Serisu.

"What about her?" I asked, looking toward the sleeping girl.

"Serisu?" There was a hint of disgust in his voice. "We've had a bad past, but I guess I forgave her. I think...I think I'm only with her because she keeps my mind off Haketa."

Akamaru's whimpers caused Kiba to stir awake. He gazed down at his unconscious and wounded companion, whispered reassuring things to him, and fell back to sleep without acknowledging the rest of us.

"I don't know why I'm letting her death affect me so much," Kankuro said in a much quieter tone. "As a Suna Shinobi, I went through plenty of emotion-control exercises when I was at the academy, but...I don't know. I really don't. I mean, I've watched tons of people die. I've killed a lot of people. I just never intended to...Haketa was...I--"

"Kankuro," Serisu whined, scooting closer to him. She rested her head on his chest in the same way I used to. 

Kankuro's jaw tightened and he gently placed a hand on her hair, stroking it like he did to mine. My body suddenly felt heavy and painful. I stood and, ignoring the drops of water falling from the sky, left the shelter of the tarp. 

I couldn't continue to watch that.

()()()

It felt like years until morning finally came. Even though I was mentally and physically exhausted, I couldn't fall asleep. Images of Serisu and Kankuro filled my mind every time I tried.

Just as the sun's rays started to shine through the trees, Kyan, Gaara, and Lee found their way to our little camp. Lee carefully hoisted Kiba onto his back while Kyan held Akamaru's small body in her arms.

After taking the tarp down, letting all the water run off it, and folding it back up, I turned to face Gaara, who looked a lot different than when I last saw him at the Chuunin Exams. Even though that was only six months ago, he looked years older. He didn't have as much hate in his eyes.

"You have a radio on you, am I right?" he asked.

I nodded and held it out to him. "Yeah," I replied, "but its water-damaged. I can't get it to work."

Gaara took my radio from me and flipped it over, removing the back from it, which he handed back to me. He slapped it against his palm, holding the batteries tightly. After a few moments, he placed them back in their place and clicked the cover back.

"I used the sand to drain some of the water from the batteries," he told me. "It may not last long, but tell Lady Hokage who we have in our party."

I stared at him in amazement for only a moment before raising the radio to my lips. "Lady Tsunade? Shizune?" I asked loudly.

"Haketa, is that you?" Lady Hokage's voice replied.

Kyan's gasp made my heart plummet into my stomach. She locked gazes with the hooded Shinobi behind me. I closed my eyes tightly, wishing Lady Tsunade wouldn't have said my name.

"Lady Hokage, we're bringing back an injured Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru," I told her quickly. I could feel Kankuro's eyes on the back of my head. 

I opened my eyes to see Gaara's confused face. I hooked my radio back onto my waist and turned around to face Kankuro. Without making eye-contact, I looked at my sister.

"Kyan, go back to the village. I'm going to look for any more injured." Before she could answer, I took off in a random direction, praying Kankuro wouldn't follow me. 

I wasn't sure how long I was traveling, but the entire time, scenarios constantly ran through my head. Kankuro knew who I was. He knew Kyan had lied about my death. He knew just who exactly he'd spilled his feelings to.

There were many things I expected him to do next. The one that worried me the most was him being so angry for being lied to, that he hurt Kyan. That thought made me halt on a sturdy tree branch. 

"He wouldn't do that," I whispered to myself. But then again, he had fought me during the attack on Konohagakure. He'd poisoned me and left me for dead.

"Haketa?"

I pulled out my final kunai and threw it behind me. I heard it hit something solid, but not fleshy. Turning around, I saw that I had lodged it into Temari's oversized fan. She stood, watching me with a concerned expression, and motioned her head back toward the way I came from.

"Come on," she told me. "It'll be fine."

I grabbed the part of my outfit that covered my face and pulled it back, taking a deep breath of fresh air. I hadn't even realized my eyes were full of tears until they spilled over. I never went through those emotion-controlling exercises. 

"I don't want to see him," I whispered to the Kunoichi in front of me. 

"I know. I personally don't think it's a good idea for you two to see each other, but sooner or later, you'll have to go back to report to Lady Hokage."

Temari was right. I had to go back. 

Dragging my feet, I followed her back to Konoha. She had informed me on her teamwork with Shikamaru. Other than a broken finger and a few scratches, he was perfectly fine. He was just worried sick about Choji, Neji, Kiba, and Akamaru. 

"I'm going to go see Shikamaru at the hospital," she told me once we arrived to the Hokage's office. 

"Right. I'll be here or at my house. You do remember where that's at, right?"

"Of course. I'll stop by later."

And with that, she was gone. I opened the door to Lady Tsunade's office to find her sitting behind her desk, like always. Gaara was sitting on a nearby bench, bent over a piece of paper with a pen in his hand. Whatever he was writing, he was concentrating furiously on it.

"I've come to report my mission status," I told her quietly, as not to break Gaara's focus. 

"There's no need," she replied, standing up from her messy desk. "Kyan already stopped by and took care of it." She grabbed a medical book and blew the dust from the cover. "I'm on my way to the hospital to help with the wounded." She looked over to the redhead. "Gaara, when you're done, just place it on my desk and I'll mark it for approval. Haketa, I have another mission for you, but it'll have to wait for now."

She hurried past me, leaving me alone with Gaara. After a few seconds, he glanced up from the paper. "What's your sister's name again?" he asked.

"Kyan," I told him. "Why?"

"Report," he answered simply. I watched him write down her name, then hold the paper out to me. "Does this make sense to you?"

I took it from him and blinked furiously, trying to read the messy handwriting. In my entire life, I'd never met a boy with semi-decent calligraphy. 

What he had written was a status report. A very intelligent one, too. Most of the words he used were ones I'd never heard. It seemed he wrote down the success of the support request Lady Tsunade had sent to his village. At the very end, he credited Kyan's medical abilities, saying she was advanced for the number of months she'd been studying.

"Yeah, it makes sense," I finally told him, returning the paper to his outstretched hand. "Um, do you know where Kankuro is?"

Gaara stared at me for a long while. "Yes," he eventually said. "You don't want to see him now. Kyan explained everything to me. Its best if you two go your separate ways."

"I guess," I mumbled, my gaze following his body as he slipped the paper onto the desk. 

"But," he continued, his back facing me, "that's what Temari thinks. I don't care much for Serisu. She's...annoying, to say the least."

My eyes narrowed in a confused way at the boy. I didn't know quite what he was getting at. 

"I think Kankuro mentioned he was going to your family's restaurant. Haketa, _I don't care much for Serisu,_ " he hissed. 

His subtleness finally hit me. My mouth fell open. "Gaara, are you trying to tell me she's flirting with you?"

Gaara faced me again and gave me a stern look. Even though he didn't say anything, I knew the answer was yes, and she wasn't getting anywhere with it. 

"Well," I told him, bitter revulsion boiling in my gut, "it was nice talking with you. I think I'm going to go see if my mother needs help at the restaurant."

I slammed the door on the way out of the office.


	3. Starting To Heal

_"The scars you can't see are the hardest to heal." - Astrid Alauda_

I knew people stared at me as I stormed out of the Hokage building, but I didn't care. Part of me expected Gaara to be right behind me, but when I turned my head, I saw that he wasn't.

My breathing was heavy in my ears as I walked (well, more like ran) to my family's restaurant. I wanted Serisu to be there with Kankuro. I wanted them both to see me without my face covered. I wanted the entire village to know what kind of person she was.

No, person would've been an understatement for her. No person would cheat on their boyfriend, then flirt with their boyfriend's younger brother behind his back once she had the guy back. 

Serisu wasn't a person. She was a heartless hussy who would spread her legs for anything with a penis.

My body suddenly stopped moving. Although my muscles struggled to keep my pace, the rest of my body refused. Looking down at the ground, I saw a long shadow attached to my body.

"Shikamaru!" I screeched. "Let me go right now!"

"You need to calm down, Haketa," Shikamaru told me calmly, approaching me like he would a wild animal. I noticed his pointer finger was in a splint and his eyes were red, like he'd been crying.

"You don't even know what's going on!"

"Yes, I do. Temari told me all about you and Kankuro. By the looks of your face and how fast you were walking, I could tell you were on some kind of girl-killing mission. Ino gets that look sometimes."

"You don't understand!" I snapped. "She's been flirting with Gaara this whole time! Damn it, that's not right!"

"Its not your place anymore," he muttered. I gave him an odd look. His words swirled in my head until he repeated them. "Its not your place to go after Serisu. Kankuro doesn't belong to you anymore, just like you don't belong to him. Let it go. Its their relationship."

My gaze slowly dropped to our feet and his shadow released mine. My body relaxed instantly. 

Shikamaru was right, as much as I didn't want to accept it. For six months, Kankuro hadn't been anything to me except a bitter memory. I didn't have the right to tell off Serisu. It was a problem between Serisu, Kankuro, and Gaara. It didn't involve me.

()()()

I felt somewhat better after a shower, an actual meal, and a clean change of clothes. As I brushed my hair out over my shoulder, I tried to focus on the good over the bad.

The good? Well, there was a lot of that. Neji, Kiba, Akamaru, Naruto (who had been seriously injured in his fight against the runaway Sasuke), and Choji were on fast tracks to recovering. Lee, who had recently received vital surgery, made it out with flying colors. He had even assisted Gaara in a battle against one of Orochimaru's henchmen, believe it or not.

The bad? Honestly, there was a lot of that, too. Sasuke had gotten away to join Orochimaru, which left a blow to the village. Beside the young Uchiha's great talent in the Shinobi Arts, he knew withheld information that could easily be used against us. Sakura was still devastated.

There was also the problem of Serisu. 

Yes, I was still furious by the time 8 o'clock that night rolled around. I constantly told myself that Shikamaru was right and I needed to stay out of it, but my stomach still twisted over it. 

A soft knock at my open door brought me back to reality. I glanced at my mirror, watching Temari enter my room with a faltering smile on her face. Placing my hairbrush on my desk, I stood up to hug her.

"I told you I'd drop by," she mumbled in my ear. 

Actually, I was glad to see her. As it currently stood, she was the only connection I had left to Kankuro. Well, Gaara was kind of a connection, but he and I weren't quite on best friend-terms yet. 

"I'm happy you're here," I told her.

"Um, Haketa, I brought someone. You two need to talk." She raised her hand to someone standing outside my door and motioned her fingers for them to come in.

Kankuro strolled in, a somber expression obvious on his face. He wasn't sporting his kabuki paint or black puppeteer suit. Instead, he wore a dark blue tank top and black pants. 

My breath caught in my throat and I took an involuntary step away from him. "Why are you here?" I hissed, trying to remember where my weapons were. Oh, that's right. One was probably still in Temari's fan and the rest were spread around the forest.

"I wanted to talk with you," he said persistently as Temari snuck out, closing the door behind her. I faintly heard Gaara and Kyan's voices behind the wood.

"You think I give a damn about what you want?" I huffed and returned to my seat in front of my mirror, obsessively brushing my hair again. "Go away."

"No," he replied. I glared at him through the mirror. "No, I won't go away. Not until we talk."

"There's nothing to talk about, Kankuro. Just go back to your...girlfriend-thing. I'm sure she misses you," I muttered sarcastically. 

He returned the glare. It was apparent that I hurt his feelings or offended him, but who cares?

"Serisu is on her way back to Suna to report our mission to the village elders," he told me matter-of-factly. "And she isn't my girlfriend..." He sighed heavily, then added, "anymore."

I brought my brush down to my lap, my head overflowing with confusion. "What do you mean?" I asked, turning around in my chair. 

Kankuro crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "When I was talking about her to what I thought was just a regular Courier-Nin, I realized I was with Serisu only because I needed someone to take your place. After Tsunade gave you away and I realized you're still alive, I left Serisu."

Not knowing quite what to say, I blurted, "You know, she's been flirting with--"

"--Gaara, I know. She isn't the most subtle person in the world and sometimes he isn't either. I noticed he hated being around her when we started dating again. I even caught her leaning over the table at him, trying to show off her cleavage. Gaara isn't interested in girls yet, I don't think."

I closed my eyes tightly and ran an exhausted hand over my face. I was somewhat flattered that he left her because he found out I was alive, but it still didn't make up for the fact that he'd betrayed me.

"Just leave," I sternly told him, focusing my attention on a stuffed animal on my bed that had fallen to it's side. As I fixed it, I forced my hair to shield my watering eyes.

"Why?" he demanded to know. "Why do you want me to leave so damn badly, Haketa?" 

Hearing my voice come from his mouth was too much. My chest tightened painfully and I doubled my hands into fists, shaking as I tried my hardest to stop my crying.

"Because you broke my trust!" I cried out, whipping my body back around to look at him. "I trusted you with my life, and you turned against me!" Even though I wasn't sure why, I took a step closer. "What did I do to you that was so horrible that...that you couldn't tell me what your plans were?! Don't you think I deserved that much?!"

"It was an order from the Kazekage!" he retorted. "How was I supposed to know Orochimaru had disguised himself as my father?!"

"Did you not trust me enough to tell me the stupid plans?! I could've saved my grandfather's life!"

Kankuro seemed at a loss for words as he stared at me. I bit down on my lower lip and tilted my head down, not wanting him to see me cry anymore. Instead of just ignoring me like I expected, he moved closer and wrapped his arms tightly around me, burying my face in his chest. His familiar, delicious scent just made my heart hurt more.

"I hate you! I _hate_ you! I HATE YOU!" I yelled, pounding roughly on his chest with my fist with every "hate." I delivered one more, weaker punch, whispering, "I hate you."

He allowed me to cry on him for...I'm not sure how long. At one point, my legs felt as if they were about to give out, so I broke away from him to sit on my bed. Kankuro sat next to me and we fell into a silence aside from my sniffling.

Sitting next to him felt weird, as if it wasn't actually happening. Even though we didn't speak again for the longest time, I caught myself stealing hidden glances at him.

My gaze traced his body, my imagination torturing me. Serisu's hands had, once again, touched him. I didn't want to know quite where she touched him, but I had a pretty good idea. Just when I thought I'd cried all the tears out, more came. 

It wasn't fair to Kankuro. Even though I still felt betrayed by him, I still didn't think what Serisu had been doing was right. Even though I'd only spent a few hours with the girl, I somewhat knew how she thought.

She liked being in control and having people wrapped around her finger. Having the two brothers (or so she thought) at the same time must've felt like heaven to her. I just didn't understand how a girl could act like that.

"I'm sorry, Haketa," Kankuro finally said. My heavy eyes settled again on his figure. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about the attack. I'm sorry for bringing Serisu here. You know, I'm just sorry."

Ideas raced through my head. "How long are you guys here for?" I asked him. 

"Until we get word back from the elders of our village. Serisu is going to come back and serve as an escort, but Lady Hokage is combining a mission she's giving to a Konoha Shinobi with one of ours."

I smiled a little to myself. The trip from Konoha to Suna took about a day and a half without breaks. "Can you come here at around noon tomorrow?" I questioned. "I want to take you somewhere."

My question put him off. He gave me an odd look, but eventually replied, "Uh, yeah. Sure."

I stood up from my bed and opened the door for him. "You can go now."

I kept my head down as he walked past me. A breath caught in my throat as I watched his feet stop for a second, then continue walking. 

My body and mind felt strange as I curled up on my bed, shutting my eyes tightly. I tried my hardest to put everything together in my head. Kankuro was back, he had broken up with his cheating girlfriend because he found out I was still alive, and I had made plans with him, even though he had tried to kill me half a year ago.

Damn, what was I thinking?


	4. Going With The Flow

_"The heart is the only broken instrument that works." - T.E. Kalem_

"Where are we going?"

"How many times are you going to ask that, Kankuro?"

"As many as it takes until I get a reasonable answer."

"You'll see."

"That's not reasonable."

I sighed to myself, fastening my backpack tighter on my shoulders. I made sure to be extra careful with it. After all, the flowers that were placed inside were delicate. I didn't want to smash them.

Behind me, Kankuro was hot on my trail as we walked through the Konohagakure streets. We had left my house about fifteen minutes before and I wasn't telling him where we were going until he figured it out himself.

My empty stomach growled softly, but I didn't want to stop and eat quite yet. I didn't eat when I left the house simply because of my nerves. However, I somewhat regretted it now.

We passed a house that I kept my eye on. If Ino had seen me walk past with Kankuro, I knew I'd be attacked with questions. I knew all of the Shinobi teams around my age knew about the secret relationship I'd had with the Suna kid and what happened between us. I didn't want to waste hours giving out explanations of my actions. I wasn't even entirely sure what I was doing.

Kankuro and I soon came to a hill that wore scattered gravestones and different kinds of foliage. I stopped and swung my backpack around, cautiously taking out the flowers, before heading toward two stones that were placed near each other.

Dried flower petals were set around the stone that had obviously been there longer. It had a few more cracks than the more recent one next to it. As I stood in front of them, my gut twisting hard, Kankuro kneeled down and brushed dirt off the engraved letters with his palm.

"Chikaku Nobu," he read aloud, patting his dirty had on the grass by his feet. 

"My father," I explained to him. "I come here sometimes when I want to talk to him. And now..." I turned my head to the other gravestone. "I come here to talk to my grandfather."

When Kankuro left before, I'd spent a lot of time here soon after Grandfather died. I'd asked them both why he had done that to me and if it was just part of being a boy. Of course, I never got answers from them, so I figured it was just something I'd either have to figure out on my own or forget about.

"Why did you bring me here, Haketa?" Kankuro asked. There was a demanding tone to his voice as he stood up straight and faced me. From the look on his face, I knew he wasn't asking just to have something to talk about. He wanted a solid answer.

I placed the flowers between the two stones and replied, "I wanted you to meet my father. That's all." Honestly, I wasn't sure why I brought Kankuro along. Having him there with me felt right, though. 

We didn't talk for a while after that. I started to think about Kankuro's father. Shortly after the attack, news came back to Konoha of the true Kazekage's death. That left Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara as orphans, but from what I saw, they were somewhat closer to each other because of it.

"I heard about your father," I finally said, looking up at his face. He was staring down at Father's gravestone intently. "I'm sorry it had to happen like that."

Kankuro shook his head. "Don't be. He was a decent Kazekage, but he didn't know how to be a father. Everything feels the same back home, just with one less body walking around the house."

I sat down and crossed my legs over each other, enjoying the light breeze blowing about and the warm sun on my back. "What about your mother?" As soon as Kankuro's head shot down so he could look at me, I felt as if I'd asked the wrong thing. Was she someone who nobody spoke of?

"What do you mean?"

"Did she know how to be a mother?"

Kankuro exhaled slowly and took a seat next to me. "Yes," he told me, a small smile on his face. "From what I remember, she was great. She did everything right. She changed our diapers, fed us, kissed our cuts when we fell and came crying to her. She held us when we wanted to be held. She did everything. I just...I wish she would've been around for Gaara like she was for Temari and me."

Something changed in his eyes as he talked about her. It was easy to tell he admired her and missed her. Even though she had only been with him for a few years, they had the normal bond a mother and son were meant to have and it had been strong while it lasted.

"But people don't last forever," Kankuro added austerely. 

I nodded in agreement and closed my eyes. He was right. People don't last forever. Eventually, everyone dies, which meant you had to enjoy your time with them while you can.

Yes, Kankuro had betrayed me and hurt me more than I would have ever thought possible by bringing Serisu back with him, but he wasn't going to be alive forever and neither was I. I couldn't hold a grudge over him just because he hurt my feelings. If I did and something had happened to him in the future, I would have to live with the regret.

"Stand up," I told him, hurrying to my own feet. 

Confused, he mimicked my movements and stood in front of me, looking down at my face. I smiled to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, lifting myself to my tippy toes. He hesitated before wrapping his arms around my waist.

"You know," I mumbled against him, "I'm glad you're here, even though I think you grew three more inches."

"You didn't grow at all," he playfully told me, nuzzling his face into the side of my neck.

We weren't quite back to the way we were, but I didn't expect it to ever be like that again. Being friends was enough for me.

()()()

"Being a Courier Nin is a lot more exciting than working at the restaurant. The pay is a lot better, too," I explained as we waited eagerly for our food. Kankuro crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at me.

"I really wish you'd let me pay for my own food."

I shook my head, countering his frown with a large grin. "Nope. Trust me, I have more than enough for the both of us. In fact, I could pay for Temari and Gaara to eat, too."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Temari eats all the time, but she never puts on any weight. It makes up for Gaara, I guess. He doesn't eat much."

Our food came soon after he finished talking. We ate in silence, aside from the immature snickers caused by flicking dry food at each other. As we ate, I'd forgotten all about the reason why I'd been so mad at him and for a long while, it felt as if he never left.

By the time we were done enjoying ourselves, the sky was beginning to grow dark. I paid for our food and ducked under (I didn't have to duck far) Kankuro's arm as he held the door open for me. 

I noted the strange feeling in my gut as we made our way to my house. I wouldn't quite call it the feeling of homesickness, but it was very close to that. Serisu would be back from Suna in a day or two, if she had stayed with a continuous pace. That meant the three siblings would leave once again.

"What's wrong?" Kankuro asked suddenly.

I frowned and glanced up at his face. "Nothing. I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"Don't worry about it."

He groaned and folded his arms over each other. "You know I hate it when you do that. If you get that little thinking crease between your eyebrows, it means you're thinking about something that's making you upset."

My house grew into sight and I could see the living room light was on. Mother must've closed up the restaurant early or Kyan was home from her studies. 

I opened my mouth to tell Kankuro about how I felt, but decided against it. Even though we were on friend terms again, I didn't want him to think everything was 100% okay again because I would miss him when he left.

"We're back!" I called out when I opened the front door to the house. Temari's head poked out from around the corner and she waved a quick hand to us.

"Everyone's in the kitchen."

Kankuro and I advanced into the crowded room. Gaara, Kyan, and Temari sat around the kitchen table, being fed endless amounts of food by Mother. She was the type of woman who would never let anyone go hungry and it was obvious she was overfeeding them.

Two empty plates were shoved to Temari's right side and she reclined in her chair, placing a hand over her protruding stomach. Kyan's eyelids drooped slightly as they always did when she didn't have anymore food room. Gaara sat motionless in front of a half-eaten plate, chopsticks securely held in his hand. He seemed to be mentally preparing himself to take another bite.

Mother, who was still hovering over the stove with a stirring spoon connecting her hand to a pot of what seemed like soup, met my eyes curiously. I knew she wanted every single detail about my day with Kankuro, but I wasn't ready to share it with anyone. I just wanted time to think about it by myself.

Small talk emerged from Kyan's mouth, which everyone (except Gaara, who seemed to be dead-set on finishing that plate of food) engaged in. It continued for a little less than an hour when Temari noted how dark it was getting and they needed to be back at the hotel in case Serisu came back early.

As everyone left the room, leaving Kankuro and I alone, I couldn't help but feel like they'd all planned that move. I faced him somewhat awkwardly, not sure were to go from that point.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" he muttered, nibbling on the corner of his lower lip with a canine tooth.

"Uh, sure," I replied, "unless I get called out on a mission."

Kankuro inhaled deeply and unrepentantly took a step closer, wrapping his arms around my waist. As much as I still didn't want to just give in, I instantly returned the embrace, burying my face into him.

"Thanks for today," he whispered in my ear. My stomach twisted once again as he turned his head and pressed his lips to my cheek.

Words weren't spoken after that. He left immediately with his siblings, which gave my own family free reign to bombard me with questions. 

"Not now, please," I told them, giving them a defeated glance. "I just don't feel like talking about it."

They didn't argue as I made my way up to my room and closed myself off to them. After changing clothes and brushing out my hair, I found myself on my bed, curled up with my blankets held close to my chest.

As thoughts raced through my head, I tossed and turned for hours. Even though everything was finally settling down, I was still confused beyond belief. 

I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I just hoped for the best.


	5. Reflections

_"All trust involves vulnerability and risk, and nothing would count as trust if there was no possibility of betrayal." - Robert C. Solomon_

I remained in bed for a long time the next morning. I wasn't quite ready to get up and face the day.

As soon as my alarm clock starting blaring in my ear, my fist swung over and slammed on the "off" button. I didn't want to wake anyone else up because I knew if I did, they'd expect me to get up, too. "Laziness" was my middle name these days.

My mind wandered to the three siblings. Knowing Gaara never slept, I wondered if Kankuro and Temari were awake yet. How far away was Serisu? How much longer did I have to spend with Kankuro before we parted ways once again?

I started to chew on the inside of my cheek. Would I ever hear from him again once they left? If he had still been with Serisu, that answer probably would've been a solid "no." But now...I wasn't entirely sure. After all, it did seem like he wanted to be friends again.

A soft chuckle came from my throat. "Friends," I whispered to myself, thinking back to when he and I had been just that.

()()()

__

_"Why can't I go watch you?" I asked for the hundredth time that day. Even though the Chuunin Exams were three weeks away, I wanted to know at that moment why Kankuro didn't want me coming._

_"Because I know you're supporting me, even if you're at home," he replied, hooking his thumbs on the belt loops on my pants. Every time I asked that question, he gave me a different answer._

_I frowned and leaned slightly away from him, placing my hands on the balls of my feet. He, too, leaned back, uncrossing his legs from under me to stretch them out on my bed. We had many entangled sitting positions, but this was one of our favorites. However, if any of my family members found us like this, there would be fighting. It was the traditional straddling position, but there was nothing sexual about it._

_"You want to know what I think?" I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest._

_He raised an eyebrow and gave me that cocky smirk he used every so often when dealing with people who amused him. "Depends. Will it make me upset?"_

_"I think you're scared that they'll pick me to fight you instead. You're scared I'll beat you," I joked._

_Kankuro's smirk broke out into a full-blown smile and he nodded. "You're a genius, Haketa. That's exactly why. How'd you know I'm terrified of you?"_

_"Like you said, I'm a genius."_

_Suddenly, the smile fell into a straight line and he glared daggers at me. With one swift motion, I was pushed onto my back and he was on all fours above me. Honestly, I was alarmed until the tip of his nose touched mine._

_"You know I'd never intentionally hurt you, right?" he mumbled. His breath tickled my lips and I tried my hardest not to lick them._

_"I-I guess."_

()()()

Thinking back on it, what Kankuro said was true. He never intentionally hurt me. The only times I was hurt by his actions was when he made Crow tackle me and when the poison gas got into my lungs. The puppet didn't even tackle me that hard. I was sort of a weakling back then.

From the hallway, I started to hear rustling noises. Kyan must've been awake and getting ready to start her day. I sighed to myself. I should've been doing the same thing, but I just felt so exhausted. All I wanted to do was lie in bed all day. 

"G-Get up," Kyan told me, practically kicking my door open. I instantly wrapped myself up deeper into my blankets, hiding my face from her. There was no way I was leaving my bed yet.

I squealed in laughter as she lay on top of me, finding the bottoms of my feet. I tried my hardest to kick her off, but as she tickled my left foot, she sat on my right leg. 

"STOP!" I playfully screamed, trying to catch my breath in between gasps for air. Finally, she released me and pushed me from my bed. I landed on the hard floor on my butt and pouted, crawling toward the door. "You're a terrible person, Kyan."

"Yeah, I kn-know."

Looking at myself in the mirror of the bathroom, I frowned as my mess of hair caught my attention. I began the odious task of running a brush through it while attempting to picture the hands that had once been familiar to me smoothing it out while I fell into a languid state.

Serisu's face flashed through my mind and the hairbrush came to a sudden halt. There were so many different kinds of thoughts that involved her running through my head.

The second I imagined her and Kankuro touching and kissing, my gut swirled with pain. Although I had, for the most part, pushed away my rancor feelings for the girl, I could still feel the remnants of jealousy smacking against my subconscious. 

Why exactly did I still feel jealous of her? Other than the fact that she lived in the same village as Kankuro, could see him any time she really wanted to, and had gotten her hands on him many times, I wasn't sure. After all, he _did_ leave her because of me.

I watched a devious smirk form on my drowsy face. That little fact shot my mood up instantly. Kankuro left Serisu for _me_.

Suffocating my face into a damp towel, I shook my head. Why would that make any difference? If I were Kankuro, I would've left Serisu for _any_ girl. It wasn't as if he and I would ever become what we used to be, right?

"That's exactly right," I replied aloud to my reflection. 

I could've sworn my reflection rolled her eyes at that statement.


	6. Fighting Words

_"Trust in what you love, continue to do it, and it will take you where you need to go." - Natalie Goldberg_

"You called for me, Lady Hokage?"

Lady Tsunade, her head buried in the piles of contracts that needed signing, slowly lifted her eyes to meet mine. Her facial expression worried me slightly, but then again, I'd been worrying ever since my mother had told me earlier that the Hokage needed to see me as soon as possible. My instant assumption was that I'd done something wrong.

"Saiji is dead," Tsunade bluntly said. Her gaze remained locked to mine, as if waiting for my emotions to kick in and for me to fall to the ground in tears. I almost did, too.

Saiji had been a man about three years older than me and who had served as one of my instructors during my Courier-Nin training sessions. Although we wore dark colors while out on missions, it was hard to miss the patches of untidy blonde hair that poked out from his hood or his piercing green eyes that sometimes shown brighter than Sakura's did.

"How?" I finally managed to ask after composing my inner thoughts. Saiji had always been swift and strong, so I imagined only a natural disaster could have killed him.

Lady Tsunade's hands folded properly on the top of her cluttered desk. "I'd sent him to pick up a parcel from Sunagakure just before Uchiha decided to leave. Early this morning, Serisu sent word back of how she found him dead. It seems he was ambushed."

I didn't quite know how to process any of that. When I'd taken the Courier-Nin job, they'd made it very clear of just how dangerous the position was. However, we were also trained on the various ways to escape: smoke bombs, distractions, and simply speed. Damaging trade items and documents was completely unacceptable, and while defending against or attacking the enemy, it was almost impossible to protect said item.

"This being the case," she went on, "I'd like to assign you to a double-mission of sorts."

Fear swirled in my gut from her words. I wanted to tell her that I wasn't interested in a mission in which I could end up like Saiji and walk away to pretend I was never there. But instead, I remained standing straight and attentive. "Yes, ma'am."

"These are the coordinates Serisu sent of Saiji's body location. I'd like you to take Kyan to the body so she can identify the attacking village. Your job is to bring back the parcel." Folded in her hand was a small piece of paper.

"I'm guessing that's only the first half of the mission?" I assumed, taking the paper from her with trembling fingers.

A soft, yet cocky smirk graced her lips. "Exactly right. The second part is something I was saving for later when Saiji returned, but under these circumstances, I'm sending you in his place. Because you will be in Sunagakure territory, and some people are still a little hostile, to say the least, I'm sending Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro with you. Serisu won't be serving as an escort, so you will."

I kept my mouth shut to hide my teeth slamming together. Traveling with Gaara and Temari, I was okay with. But with Kankuro? I wasn't exactly keen on that, seeing as I was expecting the trip to be very awkward.

"This mission will take a few weeks, a month at the most," she continued to explain. "While you prepare for your journey, I'll write up a hotel referral for you and Kyan to stay at."

"A month?" I repeated, throwing her a confused glance. "Why so long?"

She shifted her weight in her chair uncomfortably. "Well," she muttered just before bringing her fist up to her mouth and clearing her throat, "your mother recently came to me with a proposal. Your family's restaurant has been doing very well since it first opened. She and I have talked about expanding the business to other villages. Sunagakure has already agreed to owe us on several occasions, so it would only make sense to start there."

At my sides, my hand doubled into fists, crumpling the paper inside my right hand. Our restaurant had been strictly a Konohagakure business for years and that was how I wanted it to stay. A large part of the reason why the village received so many tourists during festivals and other events was because of us. If we were in another village, we wouldn't be unique anymore.

"During your time there, you'll be speaking with business and building owners. So, go inform your sister of this. I've already told the three siblings to meet you two at the front gates in an hour."

"Ma'am," I hissed, bowing slightly to her before turning on my heel to hurry out.

()()()

"You're n-not okay with this, huh?" Kyan questioned me as she watched me toss clothes around my room. I wasn't sure what to bring and with the siblings waiting downstairs (my mother insisted they met us at home so she could stuff more food into them), time wasn't quite on my side.

"Not really," I told her honestly, shoving yet another tank top into my backpack. We were going to the desert. It only made sense to take light clothes. 

"Is it because of Kankuro?"

I wanted to tell her the truth for that question, but I decided against it. Besides, it wasn't as if I had a problem traveling with Kankuro. I just had a problem with the awkwardness. "No, its not," I replied. "I just feel like Father would have wanted the business to stay only in Konoha."

"Haketa, F-Father is dead."

My body involuntarily stopped moving, hunched over my backpack. "Do you think I'm that stupid, Kyan?" I barked at her. "I know he's dead."

She put her hands up, her palms facing me, and shook her head. "All I'm saying is th-that it doesn't matter anymore. The restaurant ca-can't stay in one place forever."

"Haketa, Kyan, you're keeping them waiting!" Mother called from downstairs. Temari's nervous chuckle followed shortly after.

"Its okay. We're in no rus--"

"Nonsense! HAKETA! KYAN! GET DOWN HERE NOW!"

I let out an exasperated huff and swung my backpack over my shoulder, following Kyan as she walked quickly down the stairs. Mother was waiting impatiently, posed in the typical "angry-mother" stance. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her right foot was tapping on the ground.

"You two should know better than to keep guests waiting," she growled at us. I wanted to roll my eyes and scoff, but I knew I'd die if that happened. 

Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara weren't exactly "guests." They knew where the cups were, so therefore, they lived at our house.

Speaking of those three, they looked exhausted already. I knew it was from the food my mother had prepared for them because I knew she made a lot. Kyan and I had listened to her comments once they arrived and we both tried our hardest not to feel pity for them.

"Gaara! Look how skinny you are! I swear, you've lost five pounds since I saw you the other night!" Mother had exclaimed when she opened the door. "Don't worry, though! I've made enough food for the entire village!"

"Are we ready?" Temari asked, gazing out the window. "I'd say sundown is in about three hours. It's a good idea to make as many tracks as we can before night comes. Oh, I almost forgot. Here, Haketa, from Lady Hokage."

All eyes fell on the piece of salmon-colored paper Temari passed on to me. The hotel referral, no doubt. Glancing around, I shoved the paper into my pocket and said, "Its not like it was a drug deal, guys."

"Well, with you," Kankuro muttered, flashing a soft smirk at me, "you never know what you could get your hands on."

While everyone's attention was focused on Kyan as my mother straightened out her hair as if she were getting her picture taken, I playfully nudged the puppeteer at his comment. "Whatever," I replied, mock-anger on my face. "You don't know me."

His eyebrows lifted and I could tell he was thinking, "Really, Haketa? I don't know you?"

As we ventured out from the house, trying to ignore my hysterically crying mother ("My babies are leaving me so soon!"), Kyan, Gaara, and Temari seemed to purposefully walk in front of Kankuro and me, creating their own conversation in which it was obvious there was no more room for two extra people to join in.

"So," Kankuro started once we reached the village gates, "are you excited to finally see my village?"

"You mean I finally get to experience the constant sandstorms, the mud brick abodes, heat that never seems to go away, even during winter? That sounds wonderful." 

He looked down at me oddly with a look I hadn't seen in, well, six months. "That sounds familiar. It feels like I said that exact same thing half a year ago."

I shrugged, trying to get rid of that expression on his face. It was a strange type of sadness, the kind of missing something or someone. "I don't know what you're talking about. Everything I say is 100% Haketa original."

He didn't say anything after that. He just chuckled under his breath and turned his head forward, watching the long road ahead of us. 

Looking at his face, the way the sun hit it and brought out his features from under the kabuki paint, I couldn't help but grin. This was the Kankuro I remembered. The one who talked with sarcasm most of the time and who didn't worry about anything. 

"Maybe this won't be so bad after all," I whispered to myself.

"You know, Haketa, talking to yourself is the first sign of being a schizophrenic."

"Shut up, doll boy."

"Oh, thems is fightin' words. Come at me."


	7. Murderer

__

_"The best proof of love is trust." - Joyce Brothers_

"We'll stop here for the night," Gaara announced about two hours after leaving the village. The five of us came to halt to look around at our surroundings.

We were still in Fire Country territory, so there were still miles of foliage left to venture through. If I still hadn't been somewhat terrified of the redhead, I would've argued about stopping. The sun wasn't completely down yet, which left us more time to continue.

"No complaints here," Kankuro muttered, shifting his puppets on his back. "Besides, I'm pretty hungry."

"We _just_ ate before we left their house," Temari scolded, jutting her chin toward Kyan and me. "How can you be hungry already?"

Giving her a quick eye-roll, the puppeteer turned his back toward her and placed the large, white-wrapped object against a tree trunk. "You know, Temari, some of us like to keep our figure, so we don't eat that much."

" _Excuse me?!_ You don't eat that much?!"

While they bickered back and forth, I swung my backpack over my shoulder, searching around for the tarp we had used a few days ago. Frowning to myself, I began to pull everything out: my Courier-Nin outfit, a hairbrush, clothes I'd brought for the Suna heat, a toothbrush, extra socks, make-up, pencils, and identification cards. However, there was no tarp.

"Damn, Haketa, did you pack enough things?" Kankuro muttered, gazing at all my belongings from over my shoulder. I could feel the embarrassment on my face.

"Obviously not," I replied, standing up straight. "I forgot that tarp."

"That's all right," Gaara interjected, tilting his head back to look up at the trees. "It seems there are enough leaves still on the trees to cover us if it does rain."

I sighed, allowing my shoulders to slump, and gathered everything into my backpack. Kankuro chuckled as he stretched his arms over his head. "Don't look so upset, Haketa. Everyone can be forgetful sometimes."

I didn't reply to him. I was too upset with myself. If we truly had needed the tarp, it would've been my fault that we didn't have it. I should have checked, double-checked, and triple-checked that I had everything we could possibly need before we left. Looking at my backpack, though, I wondered if I would've even had enough space inside for it along with all my other things.

()()()

Only a few hours later, everyone (except Gaara) was beginning to feel somewhat drowsy. Kyan and Temari huddled close to the fire we'd started, using their body heat, Kyan's blanket, and the embers to keep themselves warm.

Gaara sat off to the side, staring into the blaze in thought. I couldn't help but watch him at random moments. When his expression wasn't completely emotionless, his mouth would press into an even deeper frown and his nose would wrinkle, as if something upsetting had crossed his mind.

Kankuro mimicked his brother in a way. He, too, stared thoughtfully into the fire, but the way he did it, well...I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. His mouth twitched to the side, telling me he was chewing on the inside of his cheek, a habit I figured out he had when trying to make a decision. He sat with his legs crossed in front of him, his back bent over, and his elbows resting on his legs. He rested his right cheek in his palm and chewed on his left.

I sat on the opposite side of him, closer to the other two girls. Trying to keep myself awake, I drew random animals in the dirt. My favorite tiny picture turned out to be a flower-like cat-thing. Personally, I thought it was adorable. Kyan had giggled at it, though.

As the night dragged on, parts of my memory started to go. I remember glancing up at Kankuro, meeting his gaze, then rushing to look back down at my deformed flower-cat. Then, I remember Kyan and Temari falling into each other, creating a small pile of sleep. The last thing I remember was sitting up suddenly, noting the died-out fire and an attractive-smelling shirt falling from my body.

"Kankuro?" I whispered into the darkness. The only reply was the snoring of two girls. "Gaara?"

I grabbed onto the shirt and held it up to my body. It seemed to engulf me, telling me that it belonged to Kankuro. But where did they go?

Pulling the fabric over my frame, I hurried to my backpack and gripped a few small weapons. I wasn't even sure where to start looking until I came across a footprint. I bent down and gently ran my palm over it, watching the grains of dirt fall into it. A fresh one, no doubt.

Cold, misty air painfully smacked against my face as I jumped from branch to branch, following the direction that the footprints on the ground had pointed to. The air filling my lungs stung, but I ignored it for the moment, quickening my pace.

Finally, I came across something, or actually, someone. A lone girl hiding behind a large tree trunk, gasping for air. I stopped suddenly to walk toward her, but when I got too close, she threw a Senbon at me, nicking my leg.

"Back off," she panted, glaring at me. Her voice punched hard at my gut.

"Serisu?" I whispered. "What the hell are you doing here?"

I squinted my eyes to get a better look at her. Blood peeked out from various cuts on her body and her lip had been busted open. Her clothes had been ripped and torn, leaving her in almost nothing. A neon green bra flashed out at me.

"Haketa, get away from her!" Kankuro's voice echoed from an unknown place. Distracted, I glanced around for any sign of him or Gaara. 

Before I had a chance, Serisu let out a struggled cry and tackled me back onto the ground. Rocks dug painfully into the back of my head and body. She doubled her hand into a fist and pounded me in the temple twice before I grabbed onto her wrist.

" _KONOHA SCUM!_ "

A wave of sand pulled her to the side and pinned her down next to me. I stayed on my back, trying to fight off the sense of dizziness that consumed me. Feet landed next to me and I was helped onto my own feet. 

"Are you okay?" Kankuro breathed, holding me up with one hand and inspecting my face and head with the other. I nodded quickly, swatting his hands away.

"I'm fine. What's going on?" I demanded to know as I looked at Serisu's struggling body. As soon as Kankuro let me go, I started to falter, so I grabbed onto his arm for balance.

"She attempted a surprise attack while you were asleep," Gaara replied, coming from the darkness in a very creepy manner. "As of tonight, she has committed two crimes against Sunagakure."

"Two?" I repeated.

"Attacking us and..." Gaara trailed off, looking at his brother for what seemed like permission to finish. 

Kankuro sighed heavily, holding me tighter to him. "She also attacked and killed a member of an allied village."

I stared at him for a very long time, listening to her grunts and name-calling. She had killed Seiji to lure us here. She had been waiting the entire time for us to show up. God.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" I asked her, taking a step closer. My arm fell from Kankuro, but I kept my hand in his. It seemed to be the only warm thing at the moment.

Of course, she didn't answer. She just continued to glower at me. I wasn't quite sure what to say myself. I wanted to kill her right then and there, but I didn't. I had the perfect chance to do it and I was positive Gaara and Kankuro would've allowed it. But something inside me held me back.

"Gaara," I said, "what is Sunagakure's policy on people like her? Murderers, I mean."

"Considering our village is currently lacking somebody in the Kazekage position, it'll go through with the elders and the Hokage will be informed," Gaara answered, staring directly into my eyes. There was something terrifying about the way he watched me, but I knew I wasn't the one who should be terrified. "Because Seiji was a Konohagakure villager, punishment will be left up to whatever Lady Tsunade decides."

That fact sent some sort of happiness through me. Lady Hokage was a fair person, for the most part. She would give Serisu a punishment that best suited the situation.

"What'll we do with her?" Kankuro wondered. 

"Aw, c'mon," Serisu cooed. "You're not going to let them treat me like this, are you, baby?"

His hand tightened around mine just enough to keep from hurting me. Pulling me away from her, he kneeled down, releasing my hand, and put his face only inches from hers. The sight pinched my heart and I bit down on my lower lip.

"Well, _baby_ ," Kankuro hissed, "after cheating on me, almost ruining my reputation, and hurting the person I care about more than I could ever care about you, I hope Lady Hokage strings you up for the birds to eat your disgusting body and I hope you rot in hell."

Both mine and Serisu's mouths fell open. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over instantly. It seemed his words had hurt her more than the wounds on her body. Panicked gasps came from her mouth, followed by loud wailing. Sand snaked up the back of her neck and suddenly, she was asleep.

Everything fell into a somber silence. I guess I should've felt happy after finding out Serisu was doomed to some kind of punishment for killing Seiji, but I just didn't feel that way. If someone were to ask me why, I wouldn't have an answer.

()()()

"They didn't move once," Kankuro remarked once we arrived back with Serisu's unconscious body. We placed her next to the puppets, wrapped tightly in a blanket of sand.

Temari and Kyan were in the same exhausted position they had been in when I left to find the brothers: curled up in each other, mouths hanging wide open, and snoring loudly enough to wake up bears. I wondered if we should've woken them up, but part of me decided we'd made the right choice in letting them be.

"You two sleep," Gaara ordered. "You'll need energy if we're going to finish the trip when the sun comes up."

I wanted to sleep, but I knew I was too disturbed to even try. Kankuro's hand was still holding mine with the utmost care and I was dragged over to a trunk of a tree. Only then did I realize his shirt was still on me.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, sitting down and pulling me with him. I shrugged slowly as I tried to ignore how especially heavy my eyelids felt. The night was lingering on forever.

"Y-Yeah," I muttered, hoping he didn't hear the crack in my voice. Gasping, I pulled the shirt over my head and held it to him. "I found it on me, so I just...you know, wore it."

"Keep it. It'll probably get a little colder tonight."

"Aren't you cold?"

A sarcastic smirk graced his face. "Men don't get cold."

I chuckled and shook my head, leaning against the trunk. "So, um," I started awkwardly, "when you were going off on Serisu, did you...um, well..."

"Did I mean what I said?" he finished, as if reading my mind. He stretched his arm out above my head, curling me in closer to his body. I didn't object. He seemed to be giving off more body heat than usual. 

We fell into another welcomed silence. I gazed about the dark surroundings, telling that the sun was going to come up soon. Everything was getting lighter and lighter. 

The cluster of three people caught my attention. Temari and Kyan had finally fallen out of each other, both now sprawled out on the ground. Gaara sat closest to Kyan, looking down at her restful face curiously. If I didn't any better, I could've sworn I saw a tiny smirk. But then again, that could've been my sleep-deprived mind playing tricks on me.

"Well, did you?" I eventually whispered to Kankuro. His head turned to look down at me. I pulled his shirt to my face, placing my head on his chest.

"I think you already know that answer."

A pair of lips pressed onto my head and a tender, familiar feeling filled my body. I closed my eyes, no longer sensing any sort of coldness on my body.

"Of course I meant it."


End file.
